Residents in San Mateo will have more say in where residential parking permit zones are set up in the city if the council ultimately approves suggested modifications to the program.

The current program uses a parking utilization study to determine if an area or street qualifies for the program. If parking thresholds are met, a petition is then circulated by the applicant to confirm neighborhood support and a survey is sent out by the city to confirm the support identified by the petition, according to a staff report presented to the Public Works Commission last night by Senior Engineer Gary Heap.

Streets that may have a high level of neighborhood support for starting the program may be denied if they do not meet the parking criteria or the appropriate level of support through the petition under the current program, according to the staff report.

Under the proposed modifications, the parking study is instead used to help staff determine the limits of the residential permit parking program zone. The neighborhood outreach to the community, in the form of the neighborhood meeting and circulation of the petition, will be optional and at the discretion of the applicant. The applicant may request a neighborhood outreach meeting to introduce parking permit program concepts to neighbors, may choose to circulate a petition to demonstrate neighborhood support and may submit a support letter from the area homeowners’ association, according to the staff report.

Ultimately, it will be the applicant’s responsibility to provide sufficient supporting information to staff so a case for program implementation can be made to the director of Public Works, according to Heap’s staff report.

The city’s parking permit program started in 2005 and was last modified last year following the expansion of the Downtown West residential parking permit area in the Baywood neighborhood.

The areas are generally near what is called parking impact generators such as business districts, schools and office parks.

The city’s Public Works Commission voted last night that the modifications be adopted by the council at a future date.